[darklord]

This is just a for-the-record drive to Hoganekkal.

Why so, one may ask. I want to say, "for the record, yes, we have visited Hoganekkal."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even though we visit Bangalore every couple of months or so and have explored many places in and around Bangalore, Hoganekkal, despite being its prominence in the tourist circuit, never caught our fancy. From the many travelogues and articles that we have read, the impression was that it was too "touristy" a place and this put us off, until a few weeks ago.

We were in Bangalore during a long weekend and most of the places suitable for an overnight trip from Bangalore were booked out. It seemed like we would be just lazing around in the house itself when the idea was floated to go on a drive to Hoganekkal. It was agreed upon unanimously, the route was explored and fixed as thus:


On a fine Sunday noon, we set out fron Jigani. Jigani-Anekal road was getting four laned with a good part completed, but there were also some WIP sections like this:


We crossed Anekal town through a shortcut, albeit narrow, suggested by GMaps and reached Anekal-Thally road:


After some distance, the road narrowed into a single lane road:


We reached Thally and stopped to take a photo of Thally Lake:


After this quick stop, we drove on to Denkanikottai. The road continued to be good:


We encountered some minor traffic jams in Denkanikottai town, but got out of town without much of a delay. By now, we were getting hungry and we soon found a nice place to have our packed lunch:


What we mallus call "pothichoru," literally packed lunch:


Villagers were going about their business:


We quickly ate our lunch and drove on.

After a bit, we came across this:



This was Mallikarjuna Temple, here: https://goo.gl/maps/xeqLyRMQeBphiX5N7

The route was scenic, mostly farmlands and/or wooded areas, and the road surface was good:


We soon reached the entrance of Cauvery North WLS:


A minor traffic holdup:


One assumes major traffic holdup might not be pleasant, going by the signboard:


Traffic supervisors:


Continuing our drive, we came across a view point and a waterfall could be seen at a distance:


This was named Metre Falls, located here: https://goo.gl/maps/M7VKogswqG2uoYBi9

I took out my DSLR and took a couple of closeup shots of the falls:




Both man and machine took a breather here:

[darklord]

We had no sooner start driving again than we came upon a pond:


It appeared to be a watering hole for animals, deducting from the signboard:


After a turn, we found this temple. There appeared to be an old small temple in the front, which was renovated into a newer structure behind:


We were fast approaching Anchetty by now, but before exiting the forest area, we had to cross a bridge. I stopped after the bridge and walked back to shoot a few photos:




A hornet's (?) nest:


Anchetty town was a sleepy little town, probably being a Sunday, and we quickly crossed it to enter the WLS again:


We did not stop or pause till we came upon this temple, near Natrampalayam:


Location: https://goo.gl/maps/6fcE1uj1q7Wm23MBA

Just before exiting the forest, there was some sort of toll booth, 50 or 60 rs, with a proper receipt.

The next stop was a view point here: https://goo.gl/maps/cbZ4uySyXLT9WfwH7






We drove nonstop from then on as it was already 4 o'clock:


After entering our details at the forest checkpost, we entered Hoganekkal town limits. The guard unashamedly asked for 50 rs, and when asked for receipt, he pointed to the register and said, "this is enough saar." Didn't want to waste my time and energy arguing over 50 rs, especially with the family on board.

We caught our first glimpse of Kaveri:


We were flagged down by police soon after, but immediately let us go, probably because we were a family. There was another fee collection point, apparently by the panchayat, 70 rs, with a receipt.

We found parking in Hotel Tamilnadu premises, right before the main gate of the falls, fee of 50 rs, with a proper receipt:


We walked to the boating point. There were fish sellers and stalls cooking them on both sides of the walkway:


The smell was a bit overwhelming, even though we were fish eaters and were from coastal Kerala. We reached the boating point and at the ticket counter, there was a mad rush. There was no one to regulate the crowd nor any queue. We were approached by multiple boatmen and on hearing we were a family of 5 adults and 3 kids, they told us we needed 2 coracles, which was understandable. But then they quoted prices from 2000 to 2500 per coracle, which we immediately knew was way too high. No amount of negotiation would bring down the prices and looking at the crowd at the ticket counter, we knew there was no point negotiating any further. Dejectedly, we decided to walk to the viewing point.

We traced our steps back to the entrance of the viewing point and a hanging bridge, but it was locked and guarded by a cop and a security guard. The cop adamantly refused entry and said the bridge is under repairs and that he cannot let anyone in. There were a lot of people who were arguing with the cop, but he would not relent. At the same time though, we could see people returning from inside the area. It seemed as if it was a lost cause. We decided to be satisfied with just the drive and to return home. There were multiple tea stalls nearby and we decided to have tea.

By the time we finished our tea and prepared to leave, it was approaching 5:30. A boatman approached us and offered to take us to the waterfall for 1000 rs. Half of us were fed up already and opted out. Three adults and two kids opted to go for this price. The boatman took us to the ticket counter, which was closed for the day, but still upon the insistence of the boatman, issued ticket for the coracle ride. Turned out 750 was the government's fixed price for the coracle ride for half an hour, to be paid at the counter, with the rest being "tips" to be paid to the boatman.

The boatman prepared his coracle while we donned the life jacket and prepared ourselves for the coracle ride to view the falls.

[darklord]

The boatman began rowing the coracle in the direction of the falls:


The surroundings were beautiful:


We entered a canyon:

Noticed the hanging bridge to which we were adamantly refused entry only a few minutes ago on the pretext of it being under repairs. We were not surprised to see people on it even now.

The boatman was a talkative guy, but he had a keen eye and also explained various things about the place. He had noticed the DSLR in my hands and directed my attention towards a river otter. What I managed with low light and a shaky coracle:




A white-browed wagtail:


All the while, we were inching closer..


..and closer..


And then we were as close as we could get:


It was difficult to hold the coracle against the current and after just a few seconds, we were drifting back to where we came from.

Right adjacent to the big fall was what used to be a bathing place, but per the boatman, the recent floods had destroyed it:




I took a parting shot:


Our coracle began to drift down the canyon:






The boatman offered to take us downstream since it was only halfway into our half an hour ride, but we politely declined because half of our group was waiting for us. We were back where we started in 20 mins, paid up 300 rs to the boatman and thanked him.

By now, it was nightfall. We regrouped and hurried to parking. The crowds had almost dispersed by now. We began our drive back and since it was already dark, we decided to take the longer, albeit more lively Dharmapuri-Hosur route. We stopped at Sharavana Bhavan Classic after Krishnagiri Toll Plaza to have dinner.

Idiyappam:


Cheese masala dosa:


Rava dosa:


Gobi manchurian:


After a sumptuous dinner, we resumed our journey:


We were back home by about 10:30 at night.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[rajeevsulu]

It is a lovely drive but Hogenakkal is trashy, to say the least. Good you stayed away from the fish. It is dam fish and those guys really spice it up. Saravana bhavan classic is the best restaurant according to me on that stretch. I visit the place every time i travel from erode to bangalore and the other way too!

[darklord]

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

It is a lovely drive but Hogenakkal is trashy, to say the least. Good you stayed away from the fish. It is dam fish and those guys really spice it up. Saravana bhavan classic is the best restaurant according to me on that stretch. I visit the place every time i travel from erode to bangalore and the other way too!

I did not want to be so blunt about it, but yeah, I agree that trashy seems to be the apt word. Sad that such a beautiful place is being exploited and choked with no thought about sustenance.

[rajeevsulu]

Originally Posted by darklord

I did not want to be so blunt about it, but yeah, I agree that trashy seems to be the apt word. Sad that such a beautiful place is being exploited and choked with no thought about sustenance.

Unfortunately that is the truth. I remember the place very fondly from my college days, early 90" S to late 90" S. It was lovely. Now no!

[ampere]

The Anchetty has been a great off-beat route. Perfect for a weekend. But surely late afternoon is bit on other side. You should start earlier. The meat is the drive via Anchetty which you need time to enjoy.

But all said and done great drive and great snaps!

[darklord]

Originally Posted by ampere

The Anchetty has been a great off-beat route. Perfect for a weekend. But surely late afternoon is bit on other side. You should start earlier. The meat is the drive via Anchetty which you need time to enjoy.

But all said and done great drive and great snaps!

Thank you.

Whilst I agree with you otherwise, between a child, two toddlers, and my night shift, 12 was the earliest we could manage.

[kannan666]

Beautiful narration and exquisite photographs to go with it, thanks for sharing. Need to plan a trip to Hogenekkal soon, been there last over a decade ago.

[RRM]

Only thing I wait to see is the cleanliness awareness in this superb tourist area

I had travelled to this place the next day when I took pre-worshipped 2005 V Toyota Innova. It’s been almost 8-10 yrs now but heard nothing much changed wrt cleanliness

However, I still like the place as once you get inside it’s super scenic!

[pugram]

Nostalgic - I have visited Hogenakal in the early 90's. Pristine place at that time. Very enjoyable.

Visited again in Feb 22, OMG, what a transformation. Full concrete walkboards and fully crowded. Male's walking in their undies fully drunk and what not. Only the coracle part was enjoyable and we went in blistering mid noon Sun, so made a quick trip.

Your drive photos were too good. Need to try that side of the roads. Problem with Chennai is 1. Getting out has become very tough and 2. Good places are min of 4 to 5 hrs away